More than 27,000 people from around the UK set off at dawn from London to begin the cycle route through Surrey to the Sussex coast.
The annual 54-mile ride raises money for the British Heart Foundation（BHF） and is Europe’s largest charity cycling event. Cyclists began the exhausting journey at Clapham Common at 6 a. m. , hoping to reach Brighton seafront within an average of six hours.
Money from today's event will help the charity to continue its vital work through heart research and the development of its care and support services. Among those taking part was BBC Breakfast's resident（居民）Dr Rosemary Leonard and several colleagues.
BHF spokeswoman Gemma Cloke said, “It was quite cold this morning, but everyone set off without any problems.” Those taking part range in age from 14 to those in their 70s. Last year cyclists raised￡4. 1 million for the charity, and have raised more than￡50 million since the BHF became involved in the event in 1980. The first ride was held in 1976. It is hoped this year's fund raising total could reach￡4. 5 million. She added : “We have a lot of people taking part, from the more experienced cyclists to those cycling with friends and family in memory of someone and to raise money through sponsorship.”
“People are always pleased knowing the money is going to a good cause. There is so much support along the route, with local residents watching the ride. ”
“One of the highlights for participants（参加者）is coming along the seafront while people are clapping, which can really help when they've been in the saddle (自行车车座) for a long time. ” What can we know about the cycling event from the text?
| A．It is the world’s largest charity cycling event. |
| B．Cyclists may raise more money than last year. |
| C．The first event was held by the BHF in 1980. |
| D．The route of the event is 54 kilometers long. |
What can we learn from what Gemma Cloke said?
| A．Cyclists will receive encouragement from local people. |
| B．Some people doubt whether the money is properly used. |
| C．Most of the cyclists are professional. |
| D．Local people have little interest in cycling events. |
The local residents’ attitude towards the ride is .
| A．doubtful | B．unconcerned |
| C．supportive | D．indifferent |
What is the text mainly about?
| A．Cyclists have raised over￡50 million for the BHF. |
| B．More than 27,000 people like travelling by bike in the UK. |
| C．Charity cycling event wins support from local people. |
| D．More than 27,000 people in the UK join in the charity bike ride. |
Today only one person in five in the United States lives within 50 miles of his birthplace. Since the country was first settled, Americans have moved around a great deal, and are often far away from their parents. Because they have broken ties with their past at a young age, chosen their own occupations, established their own homes and developed their own lifestyles, few American children grow up closely surrounded by grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins as they do in Italy, Nigeria, or India, for example. This along with the fact that modern American families do not have servants has made the “baby-sitter” a vital part of the American scene. A “sitter” is someone who is hired to care for children for a specific length of time—usually relatively short—while the parents are out for an evening, going to a party or a course of study for example. Sometimes the baby-sitter is also hired for longer period, perhaps when the parents are away for a weekend. In such cases the “sitter” is likely to be a mature and motherly woman. For short periods, teen-agers, college students, nursing students, and others are commonly employed on an hourly basis.
From the point of view of convenience, the best sitters are often young people who live in your apartment building or close by in the neighborhood. This gives you a chance to meet the parents and see what they are like. If an emergency occurs, young sitters can call upon their parents quickly for help; you do not have to take them far to see them home at night or pay expensive taxi fares. Another advantage is that young people living close by can usually fill in quite readily on short notice or for short periods of time.
In an apartment house you can ask the superintendent for permission to post a notice for a baby-sitter by the mailboxes. This is often the best way to find out if there is anyone in the building who is interested in baby-sitting. Retired people as well as students are often glad to earn a little money in this way and can be found by such a note.A baby-sitter is a person who________.
| A．helps to do housework |
| B．is a cleaning woman |
| C．looks after children while their parents are out |
| D．takes care of babies and cooks for the family |
It is advised that when you are out for short periods, you may hire________ to be baby-sitters.
| A．motherly women | B．retired people |
| C．young people | D．mature women |
The best title for the passage is________.
| A．American Families | B．Baby-Sitters |
| C．A Way of Earning Money for Young Students | D．A Best Way to Find Baby-Sitters |
The African elephant,the largest land animal remaining on earth ,is of great importance to African ecosystem(生态系统).Unlike other animals,the African elephant is to a great degree the builder of its environment.As a big plant-eater,it largely shapes the forest-and-savanna(大草原)surroundings in which it lives,therefore setting the terms of existence for millions of other animals that live in its habitat(栖息地).
It is the elephant's great desire for food that makes it a disturber of the environment and an important builder of its habitat.In its continuous search for the 300 pounds of plants it must have every day,it kills small trees and underbushes,and pulls branches off big trees.This results in many open spaces in both deep tropical forests and in the woodlands that cover
part of the African savannas.In these open spaces are many plants in various stages of growth that attract a variety of other plant-eaters.
Take the rain forests for example.In their natural state,the spreading branches overhead shut out sunlight and prevent the growth of plants on the forest floor.By pulling down trees and eating plants,elephants make open spaces,allowing new plants to grow on the forest floor.In such situations,the forests become suitable for large hoofed plant-eaters to move around and for small plant-eaters to get their food as well.
What worries scientists now is that the African elephant has become an endangered species.If the elephant disappears,scientists say,many other animals will also disappear from large areas of forest and savanna,greatly changing and worsening the whole ecosystem. What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Disappearance of African elephants. |
| B．Forests and savannas as habitats for African elephants. |
| C．The effect of African elephants' search for food. |
| D．The eating habit of African elephants. |
What does the underlined phrase “setting the terms” most probably mean?
A．Fixing the ti me. |
B．Worsening the state. |
| C．Improving the quality. | D．Deciding the conditions. |
What do we know about the open spaces in the passage?
| A．They result from the destruction of rain forests. |
| B．They provide food mainly for African elephants. |
| C．They are home to many endangered animals. |
| D．They are attractive to plant-eating animals of different kinds. |
The passage is developed mainly by________..
| A．showing the effect and then explaining the causes |
| B．pointing out similarities and differences |
| C．describing the changes in space order |
| D．giving examples |
Three Gorges Cruises(游程)
Day 1 Home → Beijing
We will meet you at the airport in Beijing and take you to the hotel in the downtown area.
Day 2 Beijing
After breakfast, you’ll visit Tiananmen Square. Then you will go to the Forbidden City, the home of Chinese emperors for more than 500 years. In the e
vening you will attend a welcome party and have a chance to enjoy Beijing Roast Duck!
Day 3 Beijing → Chongqing
After breakfast, you will fly to Chongqing and visit the Chongqing Museum. Then your cruise down the Yangtze River will begin on the five-star cruise ship, Regal China.
You will spend the night on the ship.
Day 4 Chongqing → Fengdu
At 8:00 a.m., the cruise will leave Chongqing. Relax on the deck, and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the river. In the afternoon, we will arrive at Ghost City — Fengdu for an excursion (短途游览) on the shore. Overnight on the ship.
Day 5 Three Gorges
You will sail through the Qutang Gorge and the Wu Gorge, and take a small boat down the Shennong Stream to enjoy the scenery.
Day 6 Three Gorges
After passing the Xiling Gorge, you will go on a morning shore excursion to the Three Gorges Dam.
Day 7 Three Gorges → Wuhan → Shanghai
At 2:30 p.m., the cruise ship will arrive in Wuhan and the cruise tour will end. You will have a chance to visit the Yell
ow Crane Tower（黄鹤楼）, and then you will fly to Shanghai.
Day 8 Shanghai → Home
You will visit the Shanghai Museum in the morning. After lunch, you will visit the Bund （外滩）, which is said to be a landmark of Shanghai. Then 
you will be seen off at Shanghai airport.
How many nights will you spend on the cruise ship?
| A．2. | B．3. | C．4. | D．5. |
On which day will you h
ave an afternoon shore excursion?
| A．Day 4. | B．Day 5. | C．Day 6. | D．Day 7. |
What is the order of the journey?
① the Wu Gorge② the Yellow Crane Tower
③ the Xiling Gorge④ the Bund
⑤ Chongqing Museum⑥ Fengdu
⑦ the Three Gorges Dam ⑧ the Forbidden City
| A．⑧⑤⑥③①②⑦④ | B．⑧⑤⑥①③⑦②④ |
| C．⑧⑥③⑤②①⑦④ | D．④⑤⑥①②③⑦⑧ |
How much will a family with 2 adults and a 3-year-old child pay for the visit?
| A．US$4375. | B．US$4905. | C．U S$3950. |
D．US$4537.5. |
Their grandmothers fought for the vote, and their mothers have battled to have it all. Now the upcoming generation of girls have decided to turn the clock back and stay at home with their babies.
According to a survey of more than 5,000 teenage girls in Britain, their main ambition (追求的目标) is to complete university then stay at home. More than nine out of ten of the girls believe it should be up to their husbands to provide for them. And although 43 percent of those questioned believe they should continue with their education until they have achieved a university degree, one in four say getting married is the most important thing for them.
The supposedly super-modern, “fun comes first” teenage generation
has proved to be very traditional in every area of their beliefs, with over 50 percent saying they would not dream of having c
hildren before seeing a ring on their finger.
The desire to have children is beginning earlier too. On average, teenage girls plan to have their first child at 26, and most plan to have one or two more children over the following four years. The national average now is 1.64 children per couple.
“This survey doesn’t show that the battles of feminism (女权运动) have been lost,” said author Claire Rayner, “Feminism was never opposed (反对) to marriage or children. On the contrary, feminism was about to equal opportunities for women to do what they wanted to do, when they wanted to do it, and this is exactly what these girls are choosing to do.” The passage is mainly about ________.
| A．the result of the battles of feminism |
| B．women’s struggle for independence in the society |
| C．the girls’ desire to stay at home after they graduate |
| D．women’s social status in the modern society |
Girls prefer to be housewives rather than independent women because _______.
| A．it’s hard for women to find jobs |
| B．men would rather their wives look after babies at home |
| C．girls want to live a more comfortable life |
| D．women have a low salary |
From the last paragraph we can see that Rayner thinks ________.
| A．women should stay at home with their babies |
| B．women should find jobs and support the family |
| C．women should be offered more job opportunities |
| D．women should live the life they like |
Richard Charles Rodgers was born in New York City on June 28th, 1902. Both his parents enjoyed singing and playing the piano. His grandparents loved opera and took their grandson to many productions. Richard attended many Broadway (百老汇) shows as a child. Richard began playing the piano
by the age of three. At the age of fifteen, he decided that he would work in the musical theater. In the same year, he wrote the music for a stage show presented by a local group of young people. Then, he wrote music for a production of the students at Columbia University.
Richard and his wife Dorothy had two daughters and six grandchildren. One daughter and two grandsons also write music. Richard died in 1979. Books written about
his life describe him as a cold man who was often depressed (消沉的). Family members say he was only able to express himself through music.
Other future show business leaders were also involved in the Columbia productions. Two of these men would be very important in Richard’s life — Oscar Hammerstein and Lorenz Hart. Richard once said the show he liked the best was Carousel, the second musical (音乐剧) he wrote with Oscar Hammerstein. Music experts say that a Richard show is always playing somewhere in the world — on Broadway, in theaters in different countries, and in local school productions. And people all over the world still enjoy the movies linked to Richard, such as State Fair, South Pacific, Pal Joey, The Sound of Music, Oklahoma and Carousel. When did Richard Charles Rodgers decide that he would work in the musical theater?
| A．In 1967. | B．In 1917. | C．In 1907. | D．In 1905. |
Which musical is the one that he likes most?
| A．Oklahoma. | B．The Sound of Music. |
| C．State Fair. | D．Carousel. |
Which is the first musical he wrote with Oscar Hammerstein?
| A．Carousel. | B．South Pacific. | C．Not mentioned. | D．State Fair. |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．All the life of Richard Charles Rodgers | B．Richard Charles Rodgers’ Family |
| C．Richard Charles Rodgers’ Music | D．Richard Charles Rodgers’ Stage |